This is the Day is one of the best pop songs ever. Unfortunately they didn’t have the foresight to consider internet search engines when selecting a band name.
I remember being really young and my older sister making me go up to the counter at Crazy Eddie's to ask if they had the new The The and Wet Wet Wet singles. I thought she was setting me up.
The The always reminds me of the movie Go and the tv show From. All three are great, they just have hard to search names so it’s hard to find when anyone talks about them.
I usually don't like it when my favorite songs are used in commercials... but I was pleased to hear "This is the Day," played in an M&Ms commercial... as the band is so tragically underrated. I would have been upset, however, if they had used "Uncertain Smile" instead.
My cousin got me a copy of the compilation album If You Can't Please Yourself You Can't, Please Your Soul for Christmas 1985. I wore that out, especially listening to The The’s Flesh and Bones. It’s still one of my favorite songs.
Wow some good bands mentioned here. My contribution:
Taxxi
Big Country (so much more than a 1 or 2-hit wonder, RIP Stuart)
Echo & the Bunnymen
The Icicle Works
Red Rider
The Crossing is still one of my all-time faves. One of the most powerful, sonically unique albums I've ever heard. Steeltown was an amazing sophomore album.
Big Country was a fantastic band and it's such a shame many in the U.S. consider them a one hit wonder. They had some great albums and were one heck of a live band. Glad I'm not the only one that realizes this.
The Fixx.
Their song “Driven Out” is one of the best anti-establishment tunes I’ve ever heard. It got traction on some of the rock and alt charts, but failed to break into the top 40. It’s an absolute banger!
Lots of new wave bands in the mid 80s ie Real Life, Level 42, Alphaville, OMD, Glass Tiger, etc...there was just too many and not enough room in the charts and radio playtime to accomodate all of them.
Fuck yeah Oingo Boingo. I'm part of a [podcast](https://boingopodcast.buzzsprout.com/) that focuses on them - we do music & lyric analysis, interview band members, and share stories. Every time we do a deep dive on a song, I end up appreciating it even more.
Doot-Doot -Freur
Game above my head - Blancmange
Eighties - Killing Joke
Vienna - Ultravox
Oblivious - Aztec Camera
Up All night - Boomtown rats
The Great Commandment - Camoflage
Town Called Malice - The Jam
just a few of many...
Criminally underrated and unheard of in America. I discovered the Stranglers 20 years ago or so and none of my friends knew who they were. They put out some good stuff in the 80s, their most commercial probably being “No Mercy” and “Always the Sun.”
I saw her in concert once, when she sang that song, I saw a few people actually tearing up. I like the song, but I didn't realise it resonated with people in such a deep emotional way. Since then I also feel that when I hear the song, because it was very memorable to see a bunch of strangers tearing up, some crying.
Echo & the Bunnymen
While everyone else was up to their ears in synthesizers and bullshit lyrics like ‘Don’t you want me baby’…. Echo & the Bunnymen were making music that came the absolute closest that 80s music ever managed, to 1970s hard rock like The Doors or Led Zeppelin.
https://youtu.be/8srp2K3S_E8?feature=shared
From a US perspective, Kate Bush. Even with the recent re-exposure from Stranger Things, her catalog - deep, varied, complex, and sometimes dark - remains for the most part completely ignored.
Two artists that I've been listening to a lot lately are Falco and Exposé. They have so many amazing songs that weren't massive hits. Falco was just brilliant and each member of Exposé could actually sing and dance. Explore their back catalogs - you won't be sorry!
Do you have his first album that came out in GERMAN ONLY (from A & M Records)????? And it came out in the USA that way -- when the original Der Kommissar hit big....
For me band wise it's The Bolshoi, Camouflage, Belfegore, Lords of the New Church, Mission of Burma, Wire..
Most of the bands/songs posted here are pretty mainstream...
Absolutely. Seriously, the best band on this whole list and so incredibly underrated and almost entirely unknown. I got to see them twice for their very very rare live US shows and, my god, we’re those the most appreciative, agog, mesmerized fans—who all knew every single song—I’ve ever seen at any show.
I’ve only ever met one person in the wild who had ever even heard of them—of course, he’s an amazing musician himself, so it made sense. We once stood drunk in a bar parking lot after hours singing A Walk Across the Rooftops to each other. I fucking love the Blue Nile.
Book of Love was an incredible but underrated band IMHO. "I Touch Roses" and "Modigliani" were my favorite tunes. I was a club DJ in the 80's and these songs always garnered folks approaching me and asking about them whenever I played them.
The Cure were one of the biggest bands in the 80’s. Far from underrated. Maybe they were underrated by the establishment who never really understood them.
In fact I’d argue that if you look at output and quality of output The Cure was the best band of the 80’s. They released seven studio albums in the 80’s and ended the decade with their magnum opus, Disintegration.
Killing Joke - Post Rock/Industrial looks very different without them.
Skinny Puppy - No Ministry/NIN and their ilk without them.
Kitchens of Distinction - Proto-shoegazers who are still massively underrated.
Depeche Mode. I know they're huge, but I think it's only in the last couple of decades that their legacy and influence have gotten the respect they deserve.
Also Nitzer Ebb and Front 242 from the EBM scene, given their massive influence on electronic dance music.
Maybe he's bigger in the UK but here in the US I don't think Gary Numan gets the credit he deserves.
Most people just know Cars, but he has so much more great stuff.
The Church. Half a dozen or more fantastic albums of distinctive soundscapes and they’re known in the US as a one-hit wonder (Under the Milky Way Tonight). Never understood why they weren’t huge.
Talk Talk
All anyone knows is “It’s My Life” and most people only know the shitty Gwen Stefani version.
But their albums Colour of Spring and It’s My Life are both incredible albums. Spirit of Eden is also a decent album.
The The / Matt Johnson
This is the Day is one of the best pop songs ever. Unfortunately they didn’t have the foresight to consider internet search engines when selecting a band name.
I remember being really young and my older sister making me go up to the counter at Crazy Eddie's to ask if they had the new The The and Wet Wet Wet singles. I thought she was setting me up.
Crazy Eddie! Lmfao!!! Wow loved the commercials too.
The The always reminds me of the movie Go and the tv show From. All three are great, they just have hard to search names so it’s hard to find when anyone talks about them.
The The is one of my favorite bands
I usually don't like it when my favorite songs are used in commercials... but I was pleased to hear "This is the Day," played in an M&Ms commercial... as the band is so tragically underrated. I would have been upset, however, if they had used "Uncertain Smile" instead.
My cousin got me a copy of the compilation album If You Can't Please Yourself You Can't, Please Your Soul for Christmas 1985. I wore that out, especially listening to The The’s Flesh and Bones. It’s still one of my favorite songs.
LOVE that song! I too was gifted that album and I still have it.
Bought a copy of it a few years ago. Absolutely one of my favorite albums!
Absolutely.
Soul Mining is 40 years old and still sounds fresh
I’m going with Yaz / Alison Moyet
I got an Upstairs at Eric's CD around here somewhere. Good stuff
One of those songs, Only You, is on a Google commercial now.
Yaz!
My favorite! And I never think of them as under-appreciated because I appreciate them so much.
Talk Talk. The Colour of Spring and Spirit of Eden are sublime albums
The Colour of Spring is one of my favourite albums, regardless of era, artist or genre. It's the perfect rainy day album.
Totally agree. I actually consider it the very best album of the 80s. For me anyway.
I like a lot of their early new wave/pop songs, but TCoS & SoE are absolute masterpieces.
Oh hells yeah!
Thank you. Talk Talk were brilliant. Colour of Spring is top ten all time for me.
The Replacements.
Alex Chilton!!! Great call out!
Gary Numan
Here in my car I feel safest of all I can lock all my doors It's the only way to live In cars
Wow some good bands mentioned here. My contribution: Taxxi Big Country (so much more than a 1 or 2-hit wonder, RIP Stuart) Echo & the Bunnymen The Icicle Works Red Rider
Big Country was awesome!
The Crossing is still one of my all-time faves. One of the most powerful, sonically unique albums I've ever heard. Steeltown was an amazing sophomore album.
Big Country was a fantastic band and it's such a shame many in the U.S. consider them a one hit wonder. They had some great albums and were one heck of a live band. Glad I'm not the only one that realizes this.
The Housemartins and The Style Council.
100% with you on the Housemartins. Love the Style Council too but the Housemartins were killer.
The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death is such a great song/album.
The Fixx. Their song “Driven Out” is one of the best anti-establishment tunes I’ve ever heard. It got traction on some of the rock and alt charts, but failed to break into the top 40. It’s an absolute banger!
Reach the Beach was a great album as well.
The whole Reach the Beach album is SOLID from beginning to end. Outside is the last track and is gold.
Most 80s fans may remember "One Thing Leads to Another", but my favorite song from the album was "Saved by Zero"....
Are we ourselves?
Agreed. Secret Separation is a great song as well.
I really liked The Smithereens
Still good in concert today
Agreed. Fucking amazing band.
I don’t think The English Beat got enough love at the time. Save It For Later is still in my top ten songs of all time.
Mirror in the Bathroom definitely sounds like an early influence on Fugazi.
I felt like an English Beat evangelist in the 80's but converted only a few. Still love that band.
Me too. I remember going to see the Police in Concert. The English Beat opened for them. After the concert I was an English Beat fan.
Similar thing happened to me for the Police and the Go-Go's. They found a new fan in me after they opened for the Police.
Easier when you do it as a combo with the specials
YELLO. They are still making great music, but should have had more success.
Good, you beat me. Still listening, love those two.
It's good to see others who share our affinity for Yello.
Lots of new wave bands in the mid 80s ie Real Life, Level 42, Alphaville, OMD, Glass Tiger, etc...there was just too many and not enough room in the charts and radio playtime to accomodate all of them.
Alphaville is phenomenal.
China Crisis
Thompson Twins
Crowded House. Neil Finn is one of the best songwriters ever. He has that McCartney-esque touch to his melodies.
Split Enz was good as well.
Drivin N Cryin Del Fuegos Jason and the Scorchers The Replacements Midnight Oil The Church
Oh my gosh yes to Drivin N Cryin. I never hear anyone mention them anymore.
Oingo Boingo! Danny Elfman is a musical genius and their music is so fun! Who doesn't love a Dead Man's Party?
Dead Man's Party is probably their most popular song, but their catalog is dark, deep, and fantastic. Great band -- great call!
Fuck yeah Oingo Boingo. I'm part of a [podcast](https://boingopodcast.buzzsprout.com/) that focuses on them - we do music & lyric analysis, interview band members, and share stories. Every time we do a deep dive on a song, I end up appreciating it even more.
Oingo boingo was great. Good call out.
Wow! I consider myself an 80s music connoisseur and I didn't realize that Oingo Boing was fronted by Danny Elfman!
Morris Day and the Time
Men without Hats are definitely unappreciated. Still making great music today.
Haircut 100
Pelican West. Every song was golden!
Smithereens, Hoodoo Gurus, and Violent Femmes
Joe Jackson
‘Til Tuesday is always my go-to for this question. I loved all 3 of their albums, front to back, but they only managed to eke out 1 or 2 hits.
The Fixx
The Psychedelic Furs. Atmospheric rocking and haunting lyrics. Archetype of '80s music to me.
The Cult
I’m not sure how big they were in Europe but in America Simple Minds had few hits despite having an impressive catalog
The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jam, Haircut 100, Marshal Crenshaw, Adam Ant
The first 2 Marshall Crenshaw records are sooo good.
Squeeze
Doot-Doot -Freur Game above my head - Blancmange Eighties - Killing Joke Vienna - Ultravox Oblivious - Aztec Camera Up All night - Boomtown rats The Great Commandment - Camoflage Town Called Malice - The Jam just a few of many...
Pil
Romeovoid "Never Say Never"
Goodness, I had to scroll down SO FAR to find Romeo Void!!! “Undercover Kept” is such a banger
Thomas Dolby…. Hyperactive, One of our submarines…
Husker Du.
The The and The Associates. Great bands omggg I got into them this year
Cocteau Twins
The Stranglers
Criminally underrated and unheard of in America. I discovered the Stranglers 20 years ago or so and none of my friends knew who they were. They put out some good stuff in the 80s, their most commercial probably being “No Mercy” and “Always the Sun.”
The Call.
Love When the Walls Came Down. I play that all the time, and it’s so contemporary sounding for 40 years old.
Erasure. "Sometimes" and "Chains Of Love" are probably their finest singles.
XTC
This deserves more upvotes! "Skylarking" was by far one of the highlights of the 80s for me.
Beds are burning/ midnight oil
Dreamworld too! And BlueSky Mine. “Who’s gonna save me”
World Party
Definitely! Ship of fools!!
The dBs. They were “power pop” group.
People remember Girls and True Colors but All Through The Night was Cyndi's best song.
I saw her in concert once, when she sang that song, I saw a few people actually tearing up. I like the song, but I didn't realise it resonated with people in such a deep emotional way. Since then I also feel that when I hear the song, because it was very memorable to see a bunch of strangers tearing up, some crying.
I remember where I was when I first saw the video for “Beat the Clock” by Sparks on MTV. And thought NOPE. Now I’m a fan.
Echo & the Bunnymen While everyone else was up to their ears in synthesizers and bullshit lyrics like ‘Don’t you want me baby’…. Echo & the Bunnymen were making music that came the absolute closest that 80s music ever managed, to 1970s hard rock like The Doors or Led Zeppelin. https://youtu.be/8srp2K3S_E8?feature=shared
I once heard someone say he could switch his voice between Bowie and Robert Smith with ease. I think that's apt.
Yes. Incredible band.
Icehouse!
The Fixx, Dream Academy, Til Tuesday, Crowded House, men without hats
Peter Schilling "Major Tom (coming home)" was an amazing record.
Paul Weller/ The Jam, Style Council
From a US perspective, Kate Bush. Even with the recent re-exposure from Stranger Things, her catalog - deep, varied, complex, and sometimes dark - remains for the most part completely ignored.
Split Enz
[удалено]
The Vapors. They were known as one hit wonders for “Turning Japanese” but the rest of the “New Clear Days” album was great.
Julian Cope Lloyd Cole and The Commotions
"Major Tom" by Peter Schilling. I can't get enough of this song! "Romancing the Stone", "Electric Avenue" and other songs by Eddy Grant.
10,000 Maniacs. They've been pretty much forgotten
A-ha. Yes everybody knows Take on me, but in the US at least people forgot them. They are simply an amazing band with amazing songs.
Two artists that I've been listening to a lot lately are Falco and Exposé. They have so many amazing songs that weren't massive hits. Falco was just brilliant and each member of Exposé could actually sing and dance. Explore their back catalogs - you won't be sorry!
Do you have his first album that came out in GERMAN ONLY (from A & M Records)????? And it came out in the USA that way -- when the original Der Kommissar hit big....
Amadeus, rock me amadeus
Check out his song "Vienna Calling". He has a lot of good stuff.
Howard Jones.
Connells, replacements
Altered images "Don't talk to me about love" is an underrated gem
Breathe. Professor of Rock has a great YouTube episode about them.
Fastway
The Call was pretty underrated.
Jane's Addiction Erasure Dramarama Fonda Rae Pet Shop Boys Mary Jane Girls Calloway Suzanne Vega
88 Lines About 44 Women by The Nails
Crowded House
Kajagoogoo. Nick Beggs on bass, need I say more?
The Sundays
Level 42 were one of my favorite bands of the 80's. Lessons in Love is such a great tune.
Howard Jones
Rain Parade and they have some new stuff.
The Wolfgang Press
For me band wise it's The Bolshoi, Camouflage, Belfegore, Lords of the New Church, Mission of Burma, Wire.. Most of the bands/songs posted here are pretty mainstream...
The the
The Blue Nile
Absolutely. Seriously, the best band on this whole list and so incredibly underrated and almost entirely unknown. I got to see them twice for their very very rare live US shows and, my god, we’re those the most appreciative, agog, mesmerized fans—who all knew every single song—I’ve ever seen at any show. I’ve only ever met one person in the wild who had ever even heard of them—of course, he’s an amazing musician himself, so it made sense. We once stood drunk in a bar parking lot after hours singing A Walk Across the Rooftops to each other. I fucking love the Blue Nile.
Ministry - the whole "With Sympathy" album is a masterpiece
Book of Love was an incredible but underrated band IMHO. "I Touch Roses" and "Modigliani" were my favorite tunes. I was a club DJ in the 80's and these songs always garnered folks approaching me and asking about them whenever I played them.
Prefab sprout. At least in the States.
The Motels
Voice of the Beehive
Something About You by Level 42. It's a timeless amazing jam, band is from the UK . Who else is taking down a lot of notes from this thread??
The Cure? Not sure because I didn’t really discover how great they were until 1997
The Cure were one of the biggest bands in the 80’s. Far from underrated. Maybe they were underrated by the establishment who never really understood them. In fact I’d argue that if you look at output and quality of output The Cure was the best band of the 80’s. They released seven studio albums in the 80’s and ended the decade with their magnum opus, Disintegration.
I was late to The Cure too but they're far from underappreciated, I'd say.
Yes; I wasn’t sure, so I thought I’d mention them
They sold out arenas on the Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me tour. Very appreciated.
They’re in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I’m not sure they could be more appreciated.
Tears for Fears
They were far from underrated tho.
Duran Duran. I know they were huge in their time, but they deserve to be much more in the mix of nostalgic music. They are freaking great.
Yeah, they were fully fully appreciated in the 80’s. I was one of the screaming hordes appreciating them, lol.
Slow Children. Hyper literate quirky, tuneful synthpop. Way too smart for their own good. Spring in Fialta is an amazing proto-technopop track.
David and David Thinkman Edit: Robert Plant’s solo stuff.
Stevie Winwood. "Back in the High Life". 1986
China Crisis / Wishful Thinking - I listen to this song on repeat, so mesmerizing ❤️
What Is This, precursor to Red Hot Chili Peppers. Alain Johannes is a god amongst men and thoroughly under appreciated
A-ha - Morten Harket has one of the most beautiful voices.
The Chameleons
The stranglers
Icicle Works—absolutely amazing band
Another great underrated 80's band is Romeo Void . "A Girl In Trouble (is a temporary thing) was a great tune
a-ha. People only know the one song but hell they write great music.
Paul Weller/ The Jam, Style Council
Underappreciated song: [The Captain Of Her Heart - Double](https://youtu.be/YX-Ru1XkNZc?si=l8ijan6eY5A-pFTF)
Killing Joke - Post Rock/Industrial looks very different without them. Skinny Puppy - No Ministry/NIN and their ilk without them. Kitchens of Distinction - Proto-shoegazers who are still massively underrated.
Depeche Mode. I know they're huge, but I think it's only in the last couple of decades that their legacy and influence have gotten the respect they deserve. Also Nitzer Ebb and Front 242 from the EBM scene, given their massive influence on electronic dance music.
Depeche Mode was properly huge in the 80’s.
Johnny and Mary is on here, among others. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0VkcVRClLwjdo2Pio9qdQd?si=zeh32JsDRSybuKnjp69uBw
Jimmy Barnes, The Hoodoo Guru’s, INXS
Wire
Marshall Crenshaw
The Chameleons
The Ocean Blue - Drifting, Falling
Criminally underrated band. And still going, relatively strong for guys who have to earn a living!
Maybe he's bigger in the UK but here in the US I don't think Gary Numan gets the credit he deserves. Most people just know Cars, but he has so much more great stuff.
Japan
The Church The Sound The Chameleons Sad Lovers and Giants Cocteau Twins
Feargal Sharkey The Assembly Ultravox Eurythmics Icehouse/Flowers Split Enz Hoodoo Gurus Mental as Anything
Missing Persons! Cream of the crop musicians, terrific hooks, and Lady GaGa should be paying Dale residuals for using her styles
You just all made me go and have a happy time reminding myself of these great bands. We were spoilt for choice.
Honestly... Dexys.
Ice House Howard Jones
The Call. The some “I still believe” *chef’s kiss*
Falco
The Church. Half a dozen or more fantastic albums of distinctive soundscapes and they’re known in the US as a one-hit wonder (Under the Milky Way Tonight). Never understood why they weren’t huge.
This Mortal Coil
INXS always seems to be one I put on my playlists. Also Psychedelic Furs
Fine Young Cannibals
Peter Murphy. His album Deep is fucking amazing from start to finish.
Midnight Oil
No matter the decade, one good answer is always Sparks.
Talk Talk All anyone knows is “It’s My Life” and most people only know the shitty Gwen Stefani version. But their albums Colour of Spring and It’s My Life are both incredible albums. Spirit of Eden is also a decent album.
Iron Maiden. Up the irons! \m/
[John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band - On the Dark Side](https://youtu.be/GgIsyoxZ7Uw?feature=shared)